Hist 4339                                                                                                         28 Aug 2008

The British Empire in South Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa

Boundary Evolution

1. Allocation

2. Delimitation

3. Demarcation

4. Maintenance

South Asia

1600-1858       East India Company controls increasing range of South Asian territory

1857                Indian Uprising

1858                British state takes over Indian Empire

late 19^th c.        Increasing nationalist resistance

1947                Indian and Pakistani independence

Middle East/North Africa

1869                Suez Canal opening

1882                British occupation of Egypt

1908                Discovery of oil in Iran

1912-13           Disintegration of Ottoman Empire begins

1922                League of Nations grants Palestine Mandate to Britain

1948                British withdrawal from Palestine; creation of Israel

Today’s Themes

British methods of control: direct and indirect

Religous/ethnic conflict

Partition as a tool to resolve conflict?